GENEVA -- Tehran, Tokyo and Libreville are the world's most expensive major cities with New York only in 32nd place, an international cost-of-living study said Tuesday.
The study to help governments and companies determine allowances for executives was based on prices for 151 products in March and compiled by the consulting firm Corporate Resources Group.
New York was rated at 100 points on the index and 32nd among the 83 cities covered.
Tehran, because of an overvalued currency, was by far the most expensive at 192 points or 92 percent dearer than New York.
Tokyo placed second with 150 points, Libreville third with 143 points.
Of the world's 15 most expensive cities, seven were in Europe -- Oslo, Helsinki, Zurich, Geneva, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Paris.
Also more expensive than New York were Brussels, Tel Aviv, Madrid, Rome and London. Other cities above New York, in order, were: Brazzaville 138, Oslo 135, Osaka 133, Helsinki 130, Dakar 126, Abidjan 122, Geneva 121, Copenhagen 119, Stockholm 117, Taipei 116, Paris 111, Lyon 109, Brussels 109, Tel Aviv 107, Milan 107, Luxembourg 106, Dublin 106, Barcelona 104, Madrid 104, London 103, Munich 102, Lome 102, Toronto 101. Duesseldorf, Beijing and Lima were rated at 100 points but fractionally above New York.
Tokyo and Osaka last year were the most expensive cities but Japan has become cheaper because of the fall in value of the yen, the study said.
West German cities are among the lowest in Europe, it said, because the strong deutschmark keeps down the price of imported goods.
'Latin American cities, which closely follow the U.S. currency, rank among the less expensive because the continuous decline of many Latin American currencies ensures that they do not become more expensive despite the high level of inflation,' the study said. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was ranked as the world's cheapest city with just 40 points -- putting it 60 percent below New York. Third and second from bottom were Asuncion and Budapest with 52 points each.
With New York always rated at 100 points on the scale, eating at home was found to be the most expensive in Tehran at 249 points with Tokyo second at 165 and Libreville third at 160 points.
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco were costliest in Oslo (198), Helsinki (183), and Algiers (170), while automobiles cost the most in Lima (249), Abidjan (184) and Tehran (173).
The cheapest food was in Quito (34), Asuncion (37) and Bombay (41), alcohol and tobacco in Budapest (53), Harare (56) and Asuncion (57), and automobiles cost the least in Cairo (55), Quito (57) and Budapest (67).
Major cities cheaper than New York included Frankfurt (98), Sydney (97), Amsterdam (96), Chicago (96), Seoul (95), Washington (95), Los Angeles (94), Hong Kong (93), San Francisco (93), Boston (93), Houston (92), Miami (92), Montreal (91), Singapore (85), Athens (85), Abu Dhabi (83), Lisbon (77), Sao Paulo (75), Rio de Janeiro (74), Jakarta (73), Bangkok (72), Karachi (72), Lagos (70), Nairobi (70), Mexico City (68), Istanbul (68), Johannesburg (66), Santiago (65), Cairo (62), Bogota (58), Buenos Aires (56), Harare (56), and then Asuncion, Budapest and Quito.
